dimanche 4 juin 2017
The Surprising Fashion Choice Motherhood Inspired Me to Make
Before kids, it's a fair statement to say that I was clothing obsessed. I shopped a lot (a whole lot), spent the majority of my disposable income on clothes, and prided myself on being well dressed. For a while, I even wrote about fashion for a city magazine. It was kind of my thing. But becoming a mom changed pretty much everything in my life, including my sartorial passion, for many reasons.
First were the practical ones. I breastfed both of my kids for a year, and easy access became a priority over stylishness when it came to shopping. I started working from home, meaning I was no longer spending my days at an office full of chic women and most evenings at stylish events. My need for a closet full of dresses was gone, a lucky thing since my budget for those dresses was now being spent on diapers. Also, I had a hard time losing the last 10 pounds of baby weight, and it wasn't nearly as much fun to shop for clothes in sizes that I'd never had to wear before. My body didn't feel like mine; I felt completely disconnected from my new lumps, bumps, and stretch marks. Surprisingly, that fact inspired me to do something I had rarely done in the previous 15 years: I started wearing shorts.
Donning a pair of shorts probably isn't exactly revolutionary for most people, but for me, a woman who had always dressed my pear-shaped, athletic body in dresses, stretchy jeans, and flowy, linen pants during the warmer months, a woman who was previously obsessed with finding the most flattering clothes possible, it felt a little crazy. I was bigger than I'd ever been, and I'd definitely inherited some extra cellulite during my first pregnancy, but suddenly I was regularly showing off my legs in cutoffs.
Again, practical reasons ruled this decision. Motherhood meant that I was spending a lot of time holding a baby, chasing after a toddler, visiting parks, and running endless errands. Sundresses didn't always work, and multiple experiences taught me they're way too easy for my kids to pull down or up, exposing me to alarmed strangers. Comfort and ease of mobility were key for my new wardrobe. There's a reason a lot of moms live in exercise clothes: taking care of young children can feel like a never-ending workout. But shorts got me out of my Lululemon Wunder Unders (too hot for 80-degree days in the backyard) but kept my Hanky Pankys hidden from the other moms at the park.
While my new favorite clothing item was great for pragmatic purposes, it took me a while to feel less self-conscious about how much less-than-toned thigh I was now exposing. Feeling disconnected from my postbaby body actually helped at first. When your body doesn't feel like your own, who cares what other people think of it? But this past Winter, when my second child was almost 1, I decided it was time to lose the baby weight I hadn't gotten around to shedding after my first. Within a few months, I was at my prebaby size, and I started seeing my old body reemerging. Sure, it's not exactly the same. I have some new love handles and stretch marks, but my legs are remarkably similar to their prebaby predecessors: athletic bordering on chunky. Not exactly shorts ready.
I wondered if rediscovering my old body would also mean that I'd be inspired to revisit my old style. Would my new love of shorts go the way of those extra 10 pounds? So far, the answer is no. Sure, I might not have the best legs at preschool drop-off, and my 20-something self would surely recommend a more flattering option, but motherhood has made me a lot more forgiving of my own body, cellulite, chunky thighs, and all. The shorts are here to stay.
Articles
0 comments:
Enregistrer un commentaire